Greater Houston Partnership

The Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) is an economic development organization serving the Greater Houston area, including the counties of Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, and Waller. Its headquarters are in Suite 900 in the Partnership Tower in Downtown Houston.

The organization was established in 1989, when the Houston Chamber of Commerce, the Houston Economic Development Council, and the Houston World Trade Association merged. GHP's roots extend to the original Houston Chamber of Commerce's creation in 1840.

GHP's mission is to be the primary voice of Houston's business community and build regional economic prosperity. It does so in a number of ways, including:

The organization comprises more than 2,100 member companies, 15,000 individual members, and a 147-member Board of Directors (including Honorary and Emeritus Board Members).

GHP routinely hosts events that bring national and international figures together to discuss key economic and policy issues, such as "State of" discussions with local officials, The Power Hour Series, and Coffee with the Consuls.

In addition, the organization's research department releases a multitude of reports that cover the region's economy and key demographic trends. The key reports are Economy At A Glance, Key Economic Indicators, Houston Briefs, and the well regarded Annual Forecast. In 2009, GHP was given the distinction of being named an Accredited Economic Development Organization from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).

One of GHP's major initiatives is Opportunity Houston. Opportunity Houston is an aggressive marketing program that generates leads for economic development organizations throughout Houston's 10-county region. Opportunity Houston 1.0 was initiated in 2005. It raised $32 million in cash and in-kind investments, all of which was used to benefit the businesses and people of Houston. The overall impact to the Houston economy was $12.3 billion. Opportunity Houston 2.0 is a six-year program commencing in 2014. The program will continue to act as an aggressive marketing initiative that will generate leads for economic development organizations throughout the Houston 10-county region. Specifically, the initiative will focus on the following areas:

In 1992, GHP founded The Center for Houston's Future as a non-profit research organization. The Center for Houston's Future became an independent affiliate of GHP in 2000. In addition to continuing its mission of research to benefit the Houston region, today it also cultivates regional leadership and community engagement.

...
Wikipedia